This disclosure relates to a tie rod support incorporated into an air cycle machine that supplies air to an aircraft cabin.
Air cycle machines are known, and typically include a turbine and a compressor. Compressed air from the compressor is expanded across the turbine to rotatably drive the turbine, which rotates a shaft to rotatably drive the compressor. The shaft is often referred to as a tie rod.
Bearings and supports in the air cycle machine hold the shaft. The supports rotate with the shaft and are configured to reduce vibrations of the shaft during rotation. The supports often include passages used to communicate air axially within the air cycle machine. For example, some air passes through passages in the supports when moving from the compressor and turbine toward a fan section of the air cycle machine. The air cools portions of the air cycle machine, such as the bearings, and is then expelled from the air cycle machine after moving through the fan section. The sizing, spacing, and orientation of the passages influences movement of the air through the passages.